Malaysia in 2024: Corruption, Racial Divides, and Economic Discontent Under Anwar Ibrahim

Photo Credit: @partisosialis/CIVICUS

In 2024, Malaysia saw a continuation of previous negative trends under the Anwar Ibrahim administration, with few upsides to show for it.  High-level corruption persists as current and former figures from the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) – the party of the former Prime Minister implicated in the infamous 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal and current Deputy Prime Minister – have received leniency from the courts. This is happening alongside rising racial tensions with politicians exploiting sensitive issues like race, religion, and the royal institutions for political gain. Incidents like the ‘Allah’ socks controversy highlight this trend, and the government’s response has focused on managing incidents through archaic laws rather than promoting open dialogue. All this has fueled public distrust and raised concerns about the rule of law. Civil society groups have given the government low ratings for its minimal progress on social and institutional reforms.

While the government earns international praise for its handling of the economy, many Malaysians struggle with the high cost of living and underemployment. The power of labor is virtually non-existent. The fragmented nature of agrarian conflicts and struggles, exacerbated by climate change, results in small-scale actions that fail to capture the growing public concern around food security and inflation.  Despite some efforts to address cartels and monopolies, not enough is being done to strengthen the welfare of those living in Malaysia.

There are, however, signs of growing social mobilization. Protests, including student-led demonstrations against corruption and farmers’ protests for better prices, show an emerging awareness of the interconnectedness of issues facing all Malaysians.

The year 2024 is seen as a continuation of the previous year by many Malaysians. The steady stream of corruption scandals, economic shakeups, and poorly conceived social reforms would surprise no one. Despite some bright spots in expanded welfare and anti-monopolistic practices, the Anwar Ibrahim administration has been a disappointment. The ambitious election promises of sweeping reforms and reduced cost of living by the Pakatan Harapan coalition (Alliance of Hope) have fallen by the wayside. While some blame the composition of this Unity Government – filled with former enemies with corruption charges – for the inaction and regression, his leading coalition bears the most responsibility for the current state of affairs.

The State of Malaysia’s Democracy: Corrupt, Racialised and Stagnant

Corruption, the issue that brought about political change in Malaysia remains in the headlines as the current government oversees the legal discharge of high-profile leaders associated with its political ally, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO). The most prominent of these cases is the partial pardon of former Prime Minister Najib Razak – jailed for graft and money laundering in relation to the globally infamous 1MDB scandal. Despite the legal fraternity calling into question its constitutionality, the administration has defended the move and thus emboldened the UMNO leadership in calling for his full pardon. Zahid Hamidi – the current leader of UMNO and Deputy Prime Minister – has similarly seen leniency as the attorney general has withdrawn their appeal against his acquittal of 40 bribery charges. Najib’s wife, Rosmah Mansor – well-known for buying hoards of luxury items with misappropriated 1MDB funds – was freed of her seventeen charges of money laundering and tax evasion as of December 2024. Many have seen these moves as Anwar’s attempt to consolidate his coalition at the expense of justice for the Malaysian public and the rule of law.

Alongside the poor handling of corruption, Malaysian society is seeing a continued increase in racial tensions. Politicians, particularly those from the Malay nationalist Right – both from the government and opposition coalitions, fan the flames of communal distrust and strife. In April 2024, petrol bombs were thrown at three chain convenience stores after it was discovered that socks printed with ‘Allah’ on them were sold at these shops. Despite the apologies and charges brought against the chain owners and sock suppliers, politicians, especially the youth chief of UMNO, have continued to raise the social temperature around the issue and have called for boycotts of the stores in defense of the national religion. This tense social atmosphere stemming from the political football of racial rhetoric from both sides of the aisle has resulted in the administration using the state and legal institutions to manage these incidents rather than frank and open dialogue. The head of the national police warned candidates and parties in a recent by-election not to raise 3R (race, religion, and royalty) issues on the grounds of maintaining social harmony. Anwar himself has said that criticism of the government is allowed, butis creating the legal ambiguity around its enforcement and leaving much discretion to his administration. A recent survey showed that more than two-thirds of West Malaysians preferred government action against acts of violence rather than a wholesale ban on 3R discussions, suggesting that more needs to be done to delineate hate speech from constructive critique better.

A prominent civil society body, Bersih (Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections), assessed the government’s two-year progress on social, electoral, and institutional reforms. They gave this administration a D grade, or a score of 45.8 percent, due to its underperformance relative to preceding governments, who were widely perceived as much more regressive in their rhetoric. CIVICUS, an international civil society alliance, similarly rated Malaysia as obstructed, scoring 50 out of 100. Repressive laws from previous administrations remain in place and are increasingly being used by an administration campaigning to abolish them.

The Sedition Act, Communications and Multimedia Act, and the Printing Presses and Publications Act were central to the government’s efforts to restrict freedom of expression and manage 3R discourse as they see fit. Protesters are repeatedly hauled up and intimidated by the cops over their right to assembly despite the assertion – even by the police themselves – that a permit is no longer needed under the Peaceful Assembly Act. The Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012, a draconian law that allows for unjustifiably long detention and restriction of access to a lawyer for 48 hours, has been misused by the authorities in cases involving terrorism, trafficking, and organized crime.

The administration has offered a seemingly humane pathway for undocumented migrants to return to their home country. Yet, this has been overshadowed by the abusive raids and detentions of immigrants and refugees that are happening at a low intensity. Even children are not spared from these punitive detentions. The rights of women had seen almost no progress in 2024 under this administration, while the demonization of LGBTQIA+ individuals has continued in the public sphere. Anwar himself had recently said that the government will not allow or condone the discrimination of sexual minorities but it is yet to be seen if this statement will trickle down to members of his coalition or state institutions who have a long track record to the contrary.

Politically and socially, there are few bright spots in the Anwar administration in 2024. The 2025 budget announced in October would see a much-expanded budget for welfare and a renewed focus on development for all races based on need, rather than the narrow focus of affirmative action on one segment of the population. Anwar’s use of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to eradicate small to medium-scale corruption has continued at a steady pace as he continues to preach good governance in service of unlocking more funds for development.

Labor Weakness, Agrarian Conflict, and Economic Discontent

Based on broad economic indicators like GDP growth and the official unemployment rate, Malaysia has recovered well from the pandemic and benefitted from the political stability since Anwar and his coalition came to power. These trends have made the nation an attractive destination for semiconductor manufacturing and data centers as the US-China economic rivalry intensifies. Yet, amid all this buzz, a vast majority of Malaysians have seen little sign of this economic prosperity. This was reflected in a recent survey in which more than half of Malaysians thought the country was heading in the wrong direction, and two-thirds cited economic issues as being among the most pressing. The headline-grabbing numbers do not translate into the lived realities of many who still struggle with the high cost of living and underemployment.

These difficult economic conditions have yet to produce the social upheaval to demand sweeping changes to the capitalist encroachment into various aspects of Malaysian life. The passage of the amendment to the Trade Union Bill in 2023 – meant to expand labor rights – has yielded little to no signs of improvement in the power of labor as a social force. In July, 250 members of the National Union of Bank Employees picketed to demand an end to union-busting efforts, in addition to just pay and safe work environments. The only other major strike action for the year was one called off by doctors after the government had promised to raise on-call allowances in the upcoming budget.

In November, six months’ worth of monsoon rains fell across the country over the course of five days. A national farmers’ organization linked the increasingly severe floods, climate change, and food security, as the losses in the two crucial paddy-growing states are estimated to exceed 10 million Malaysian Ringgit. Yet, the increasing intensity of floods every year has not compelled the government to do more to protect or bolster the well-being of farmers and fisherfolk as they continue to tilt towards conventional capitalist development. More than 100 farmers’ organizations and civil society groups have called for the government to halt the tabling of the Plant Seed Quality Bill in Parliament, concerned that it would ‘strengthen the monopoly of seed companies.’ After the initial victory of having the Penang South Islands (PSI) project scaled back by half in 2023, the fisherfolk and civil society could not defeat this needless development and continue to face the risk of the destruction of their livelihoods.

The fragmentation of Malaysian society along racial lines has meant that agrarian conflicts and struggles take place in isolation from wider societal concerns like food security and climate change despite these groups’ allusions to these issues. Malaysia has yet to see a mass convergence of climate activists with farmers’ associations in large-scale protests. The urgency for such acts of resistance is escalating as Malaysia’s most important reservoir of biodiversity and flood prevention mechanism, rainforests, continues to come under threat.

One positive development the Anwar government has been actively pursuing is a crackdown on anti-competitive and monopolistic business practices through the Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC). The Commission has prosecuted cases involving millers of chicken feed, maintenance contractors for public works, and Malaysia’s sole riding-hailing corporation. The government’s warning against businesses or groups publicly announcing anticipated price increases – an indirect way to coordinate hikes – as well as these other efforts have contributed in small ways towards arresting further inflation linked to business greed.

Progressive and Socialist Prospects Under the Anwar Administration

The frequency and intensity of protests have certainly increased compared to the first Pakatan Harapan administration from May 2018 to January 2020. Under its second round in office – under Anwar instead of Mahathir, civil society seems more ready and willing to critique their former allies who are now in power. Heading into 2025, there are promising signs of social mobilization. After revelations around a graft scandal involving many members of the Sabah state government, student activists organized an anti-corruption protest on 31 December 2024, despite the serious threats from the authorities. On 25 January 2025, students led a larger protest in the nation’s capital in response to the Anwar administration’s poor combatting of corruption. Two days later, hundreds of farmers were joined by students and civil society groups in protest to demand the government reconsider the floor price of paddy. These actions hint at the emerging consciousness around the intersectionality of issues those living in Malaysia face. Anwar’s personal opposition to ‘unbridled capitalism’ offers some hope of forestalling a full-on neoliberal economic agenda and a continued role for the state to play a positive role in Malaysian society. Yet, this should reinforce the need for social movements that defend the meager progress gains and advance an agenda that sees to the needs of people and the natural environment.